So on the way home last night, I move over into the left lane to pass someone, and as I'm pressing on the throttle, I notice I'm not really passing anyone.. in fact, they're all passing me. I look at my speedometer and see it slowly dropping, as is my tach. I tap the throttle and the tach continues decreasing. I throw on my hazards as I pull off to the side of road. As I'm pulling over, I clutch and put it in neutral and it dies.. tach drops to 0 and the engine "shut off". I tried to start it up again, and it turned over, but died again immediately. After a while (waiting for the tow truck), I tried again, and this time it turned over, ran for about 5 second, but it idled horribly during those few seconds. I manually pushed the throttle and nothing, just kept it sputtering a little longer. It's sucking in air, but it's like it's not getting enough fuel or something. Today before the tow truck came to take it back to Chevrolet, I tried cranking it one more time and it started then died immediately after.

Now for the list of stuff I know it isn't.

-Belt is fine
-All fluid levels are good
-Oil is only 400-500 miles overdue for changing (I use synthetic, and change it every 6000-6500 miles)
-Fuel filter was changed roughly 7000+ miles ago
-I get gas from the same company every time (76, 89 octane. NEVER given me trouble before)


I have no clue what it could be. It's down at the chevy dealer right now.. thank god we bought the extended warrenty. Even though it is (hopefully) going to get repaired, I'm curious if anyone else has had this happen and/or if anyone knows what the hell would cause a very well maintained car with only 39000 miles on it just die suddenly on the road after driving around all day without the slightest sign of problem.

TIA


My Car Domain Page

samething happened to me in my 1993 sunbird, i was in the left lane, passing people. suddenly when i went to accelerate, i got nothing back. my car slowly slowed down to nothing went from 60-0 within a couple minutes. i pulled it over to the side of the road. ended up getting my car towed. my timing chain/belt did something and my water pump seized. that cost $375.

See our good friends at GM decide to use MAP sensors on these cars, insated of the much better MAF sensors.

If the MAP vacuum line comes off, the car wont run, reason being, the computer doesnt know what the pressure is in the intake, and with the line off it sees zero so it gives zero fuel.

So could be that vacuum line just fell off.




- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

Are you sure you didnt run out of gas?


Peter
'06 Cobalt ss/sc W/G85 Package
Gm Stage II W/2.79" Pulley
K&N Drop In Filter
Custom Magnaflow Dual Exhaust

personally I wouldn't let the mileage go 6000-6500 between oil changes even if it is synthetic - I start getting pretty nervous if I hit 4000 miles and I use synthetic. I know they say synthetic oil lasts longer, but changing it sooner obviously won't hurt it.

but it doesn't sound like it would have anything to do with oil.

perhaps the fuse for your fuel pump... check with fuel delivery because it seems that your car is starting just not able to continue delivering fuel

BarrenEarth wrote:perhaps the fuse for your fuel pump... check with fuel delivery because it seems that your car is starting just not able to continue delivering fuel

You obviously know nothing about eletrical systems.

If the fuse was blown it wouldnt start at all, fuse for fuel pump bad = NO fuel at all.

Once a fuse blows for a certain control system, what it controlled is dead until the fuse is replaced.





- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

The EXACT same thing happened to me but it was in my CRX. It was the fuel pump that had died. If that is it.. might as well replace the fuel filter also... I forgot out go check but think you unplug the hose going intot he fuel filter and try and crank it.. If nothing comes out the hose then your fuel pump aint pumping... Also just turn the ignition on and see if you can hear the fuel pump come on. You should be able to. Might have to have somebody turn the key for you so you can get up close... Hope this helps..

TIMING BELT/CHAIN happend to a friend of mine right on the side of the road at 3 am, hes lucky i was just getting off work.....

MSD, if it turns out to be the fuel pump, and I see from your

profile that you're in the automotive repair business, would

you please let all of us know the best price and quality for

a replacement. Very much appreciated.

no fuse no fuel, no fuel= car will turn over but wont start which is the problem that he is having... dont be a child, i dont think his problem is electrical, i think its mechanical.

if his fuse went while he was driving, the car would continue to use the fuel in the lines untill it was gone, then sputer and die... which is what happened.

But nice try Rob

sounds liek the fuel pump to me...we had cars like that in the shop at my job and thats the overwhelming majority. once or twice it was bad injectors, or something along those lines.


DONT GO THAT LONG! change your damn oil! i use synthetic..you CAN go longer, but nobody reccomends it!! dont go more than 3500 miles.


_________________________________________________________________

this useless post brought to you by the alcoholic known as LUNDiS

MSD, keep us updated. I'm curious.......I have an '03 and have had numerous problems with mine and I just turned 36,000 miles. Good thing I have the GMPP since I've had so many damn things wrong...........

[quote="Rob S"]See our good friends at GM decide to use MAP sensors on these cars, insated of the much better MAF sensors.

If the MAP vacuum line comes off, the car wont run, reason being, the computer doesnt know what the pressure is in the intake, and with the line off it sees zero so it gives zero fuel.

So could be that vacuum line just fell off.

A friend of mine whom I called when this happened said the same thing. But it was late at night, and I didn't know where to look for the vaccum line(s).. so that's a possibility.

[quote="ptrblkz24"]Are you sure you didnt run out of gas?

Certain =P I was at at least 1/4 tank when this happened.

[quote="BarrenEarth"]no fuse no fuel, no fuel= car will turn over but wont start which is the problem that he is having... dont be a child, i dont think his problem is electrical, i think its mechanical.

if his fuse went while he was driving, the car would continue to use the fuel in the lines untill it was gone, then sputer and die... which is what happened.

Actually.. it did start, just wouldn't run.. and the few times it did run, it ran for no more than a few seconds, all of which consisted of sputtering and then shutting off.. but yeah, to clarify, the car did actually start up.

I'll keep everyone updated. I should know something by tomorrow (monday). But I tell you, this has not been my weekend at all.

Thrusday morning, I wake up with a sore throat and fever. The fever goes away, I go to work, they let me go home 3 hours early.

Thursday afternoon I somehow stepped out of a doorway (one that I've gone in and out of countless times for the past 18 years) and "severely sprained" (as the doctor put it) my ankle.

Friday my ankle is hurtting so badly that I have to cancel my plans to go see a movie that night with some friends. Then on the way home that night, my car dies.

Then Saturday, while waiting for the tow truck to come take my car to the Chevy place, my neighbor, who told me my car was fine where it was (it was parked near the garage where they park their cars, in an open area.. that's where I told the tow truck guy from the night before to drop it off at),backs into the front passenger fender all because his dumbass dog likes to chase his jeep, so he was looking the opposite direction and backed out a different way than he normally does.. thus hitting my car. So yeah.. really @!#$ty weekend so far.

But at least I haven't sponatiously combusted =P


My Car Domain Page

^ things like that make me REALLY wish there was an edit button -.-


My Car Domain Page

Don't buy any lotto tickets for a while, you'll just waste your money. *JBO

My 2cents


Thanks,

G

Nicolas Smith wrote:TIMING BELT/CHAIN happend to a friend of mine right on the side of the road at 3 am, hes lucky i was just getting off work.....

it wouldnt of started if it were that.....and they have a chain not a belt

my friend had that problem with his VW...

check your pistons make sure it's not spitting fluid.....

"Silver 2001 Cavalier z24 5 speed 2 door sunroof and power everything "

AEM Short Ram Intake
B&M Short Throw Shifter

Did you ever find out what was wrong with your car?

I could not help but notice you Said you use 76 brand fuel.. I herd that 76 was having a problem where they shipped a batch of tainted fuel. And it was clogging up injectors in cars.. causeing you to lose power and/or your car not run at all.. If the issues you have been having are related to your fuel system in you car ..
I herd there is a class action lawsuit agenst 76's refineries.. I would look into it...BTW do you live anywhere near the northeast..?



What's wronge with stock..?

Sorry for the long delay guys.. this weekend just won't stop.

Monday morning, the chevy place calls and says, "we ran a diagnostic scan and it turned up nothing. Then one of the techs noticed it was on 'E', so we put 5 gallons of gas in it and it started right up." So I go to pick up the car, and tell the tech, "My gauge showed two lines above 'empty'.. the check gauges light wasn't even on.. if it had been I would've thought it was out of gas." He just says "well it was on 'e' when we looked at it, so it was just out of gas" and walks off. At this moment, my g/f calls to tell me she can't go out to dinner with my mom and I, and by the time I get off the phone with her and go inside the place, my mom is writing out a check for $128 ($37 for the diagnostic scan, $85 for the towing). I get mad because I refuse to believe it was "just out of gas", and the tech seemed like he didn't care when I tried asking him about it.

Skip ahead to Monday. My friend invites me and some of our other friends to a "party" 45 minutes away, which ended up being a bunch rednecks giving us weird looks and packing up all the food 5 minutes after we got there. In an attempt to not go insane from having nothing to do, we drove 15 minutes to a McDonalds so my friend could get some food. On the way back, we overshoot the road we were supposed to turn on, and right about the same time we realise what we'd done.. my car dies.. again two lines above 'empty'. We called my friend's fiancee and her dad syphoned 5 gallons out of his truck and had her bring that to us.. so thankfully we were only stranded out in the middle of nowhere for 45 minutes or so.. right before it started getting dark. Once the gas was in, the car started right up.. so now I'm almost definitely leaning towards it being the fuel sending unit.. which is what I TRIED asking the tech about when I got my car the first time and he ignored me.

Anyways.. right now I'm just putting gas in it when it gets slightly below 1/4 tank until we can find out if fuel system stuff is included in the extended warrenty we got. If it's not, Chevy quoted me $325 parts and labour for the fuel sending unit/sensor. Which isn't too bad compared to the $328 for the entire fuel pump assembly (pump, sending until, lines, etc) at my job (Advance Auto). But still.. if it's not covered under warrenty, I'm half tempted to buy the part and do it myself.. screw those damn incompitent techs at Milton Ruben chevy. They're the same idiots who couldn't even tell me where the oil filter was on my 03 Cavy.. "Oh it's either in the front or in the back" is what I got in response to that question.. meh. Actually.. I could take it to the other chevy dealer.. they actually know what they're doing there.. only reason I didnt before is because they weren't open on saturday.

That's all for now.. I'll keep you guys updated.


My Car Domain Page

J,wRight wrote:I could not help but notice you Said you use 76 brand fuel.. I herd that 76 was having a problem where they shipped a batch of tainted fuel. And it was clogging up injectors in cars.. causeing you to lose power and/or your car not run at all.. If the issues you have been having are related to your fuel system in you car ..
I herd there is a class action lawsuit agenst 76's refineries.. I would look into it...BTW do you live anywhere near the northeast..?

Sorry for the double post but, do you have a link to this info?

Oh and no, I live in the southeast.. GA to be exact.


My Car Domain Page

I found some news clippings..
this one is from WA but it does not say much..
http://www.kirotv.com/news/4519674/detail.html


here's is another one..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002286154_badgas24m.html

All I'm saying this thing can happen and it can casue the problems your having.. take your car to another shop and do a Fuel system test...Sounds like thats your problem..or there is some gas that went bad in the bottom of your tank...


What's wronge with stock..?

The fuel indicator discrepancy is not an uncommon problem with 3rd gen Cavs.
Do a quick search on the .Org and you'll find many people have had the exact same problem as you.

Basically, your gauges read at appx 1/8 - 1/4 tank of gas, when in fact you are actually running on empty. There's many theories as to why this happens, but none that have been proven.

As I was reading this thread I was thinking "I bet he has the fuel indicator problem & doesn't know that he just ran out of gas".






"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." -- Steven Wright

Oh btw,

I was wrong in saying that nobody has proven the cause of this problem

Here's an old GM service bulletin that was posted a while ago about this exact issue:

Document ID# 1284188
2000 Chevrolet/Geo Cavalier

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inaccurate or Erratic Fuel Gauge Reading, Fuel Pump Related Driveability Concerns (Install New Fuel Tank Sender) #01-06-04-008D - (04/03/2003)
Inaccurate or Erratic Fuel Gauge Reading, Fuel Pump Related Driveability Concerns (Install New Fuel Tank Sender)
2000-03 Chevrolet Cavalier, Malibu

2000-03 Oldsmobile Alero

2000-03 Pontiac Grand Am, Sunfire

2000-01 Toyota Cavalier

with Plastic Fuel Tanks

This bulletin is being revised to add a model year and to change the Correction information as well as the part number. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 01-06-04-008C (Section 06 - Engine).

Vehicles built between the following VIN breakpoints:

Model
VIN

Cavalier
Y7116423 - 37248901
YS102309 - 3S150515

Sunfire
Y7116426 - 37248904
YS102393 - 3S150516


Vehicles built prior to VIN breakpoint:

Model
VIN

Alero
3C250166

Grand Am
3M655917

Grand Am
3C250181

Malibu
3M655916


Condition
Some customers may comment about inaccurate or erratic fuel gauge readings. A typical comment might be that it appears from the gauge reading that there is fuel available, yet the tank is nearly empty.

Cause
This condition may be the result of the corrosive effect of certain fuel blends on the contact surfaces of the fuel tank sender.

Correction

Important
When servicing the fuel tank module or the fuel sender, DO NOT replace both parts. Only replace the appropriate part to repair the customer's concern.
The complete fuel level sender assembly P/N 22683260 is no longer available through GMSPO. This assembly is now serviced by a fuel tank module P/N 88957239 (minus sender) and the fuel tank sender, P/N 22709333. These two parts are no longer sold as one unit and can only be purchased separately.
Dealers within the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick and the State of Maine, should refer to Customer Satisfaction Campaign 00101, dated January , 2001.

When fuel gauge diagnosis in the Service Manual indicates the cause to be the fuel tank sender, replace the existing sender with a new sender, P/N 22709333, with improved corrosion resistant wiper contacts.


Important
With the availability of this new fuel level sender kit, DO NOT replace the complete fuel level sender assembly, P/N 22683260.


To insure correct installation, follow the instructions contained in the kit and the service procedure in the applicable Service Manual.

Parts Information
Part Number
Description

22709333
Fuel Tank Sender Kit


Parts are expected to be available from GMSPO on April 10, 2003.

Warranty Information
For vehicles repaired under warranty, use:

Labor Operation
Description
Labor Time

L1197
Sender, Fuel Level (Tank Unit) - Replace
Use Published Labor Operation Time




GM bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See your GM dealer for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.
WE SUPPORT VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION


© Copyright General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document ID# 1284188
2000 Chevrolet/Geo Cavalier




"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." -- Steven Wright